Global warming reduced corn, wheat harvests: Study

WASHINGTON - CLIMATE change has stunted the worldwide increase in corn and wheat yields since 1980 by 3.8 and 5.5 per cent respectively, according to a new study in the journal Science. Without global warming, total harvests of both crops would have been significantly larger than they were, the statistical analysis found. The shortfall equals the annual yield of corn in Mexico, some 23 metric tonnes, and wheat in France, about 33 metric tonnes. One of the country's with the largest crop loss was Russia, where wheat production fell some 15 per cent. The study estimates that the global drop-off in production may have caused a six per cent hike in consumer food prices since 1980, some US$60 billion (S$74.4 billion) per year. Net impact on rice and soybean was insignificant, with gains in some countries balancing losses in others, according to the study. -- AFP